[RFC] standardise exit-codes
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- Go
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Description
Writing this down, as I was thinking about this a while back if there's a way to standardise exit codes (also in light of https://github.com/moby/moby/pull/38689 ("Make client return "rich" errors")), and https://github.com/docker/cli/pull/1674 got me thinking again 😅
The CLI currently uses "chroot" conventions for exit codes, where some exit-codes (> 125) have a special meaning; https://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/exitcodes.html, and exit codes < 125 indicate exit codes from the container's process itself
(see https://github.com/moby/moby/pull/14012)
https://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/exitcodes.html mentions an existing conventions/standard for C/C++.
I was wondering if it would make sense to map (API) errors to those C/C++ standard (if possible); https://github.molgen.mpg.de/git-mirror/glibc/blob/0f1e40d49c1d4871fa9d7b7efdc7fca7f5ac01c0/misc/sysexits.h#L47-L89
Or perhaps there's another standard that makes sense?
For example (this is really a quick "blurb");
| Error | Exit code (name) | Exit code |
|---|---|---|
docker -H tcp://nosuchhost info |
EX_NOHOST |
196 (128+68) |
docker service ls (no swarm manager) |
EX_UNAVAILABLE |
197 (128+69) |
| API returned 403 | EX_NOPERM |
205 (128+77) |
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reviewing the Docker CLI exit-code conventions described in the issue and the linked moby/moby and docker/cli pull requests. Compare the proposed sysexits.h mappings with the current behavior for container exits, API errors, and unavailable services. Done means the project has agreed on a standard mapping and a concrete implementation scope.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- go
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100